PrecisionHawk Acquires Droners.io and AirVid to Launch World’s Largest Network of Commercial Operators

Commercial drone solutions provider PrecisionHawk has acquired two professional drone operator networks. The purchase of Droners.io and AirVid will create a network of over 15,000 professional operators to support the delivery of on-demand, drone-based imagery to PrecisionHawk’s enterprise clients.

“Since the Federal Aviation Administration began allowing corporations to use drones for commercial purposes in 2016, PrecisionHawk has fielded increasing demand for drone flight services from the business and government sectors,” says the company. “A network of professional drone operators will allow the company to quickly scale its team and technology to meet the growing demand for timely and consistent aerial data collection.”“Droners.io and AirVid share our mission of helping drone operators turn their passion into a profession,” said Michael Chasen, PrecisionHawk CEO. “Combined with PrecisionHawk’s expertise in providing professional drone services to the enterprise, this merger enables us to build the best platform for drone pilots while simultaneously providing our enterprise clients with the on-demand services they require.”

Software developer and entrepreneur Dave Brown, who founded Droners.io, will manage the pilot network development team. Patrick Egan, founder of AirVid, will assist PrecisionHawk as a consultant.

Droners. io is well known in the industry, offering pilots a platform for displaying their business and helping them to find commercial jobs. While their growth has been on an upward trajectory since inception, the new ownership will help to expand the business exponentially. “The acquisition is an amazing opportunity for our pilots to continue to grow their businesses through our platform,” says Brown. “Being able to leverage the expertise that PrecisionHawk brings to the table in the enterprise space and their existing partnerships with many of the largest enterprise clients looking to use drone technology, we are looking to hit 1000x growth this year.”

By the end of 2018, PrecisionHawk expects to have fulfilled hundreds of thousands of missions. To meet this demand, the company will focus on growing its newly formed network of certified pilots nation-wide and abroad. Part 107 certified pilots can join the network and start accepting jobs in their region by creating a profile at www.droners.io.

The announcement comes just two weeks after the PrecisionHawk closed $75 million in Series D funding. Both the funding and the pilot network merger are in service of the company’s mission to foster global adoption of commercial drone technology.

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.Email Miriam
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